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El Año Viejo – New Year’s on the Beach

… but one of the highlights of my stay in Nicaragua thus far has been celebrating New Year’s Eve on the beach. I got a chance to put my toes (and ankles and knees) in the Pacific, and celebrated the Nicaraguan tradition of saying goodbye to el año viejo by burning a stuffed effigy of an old drunk man filled with fireworks on the beach. El Viejo is also traditionally holding a bottle of Nicaragua’s pride and joy, Flor de Caña.

Fellow expats I talked with agreed that New Year’s is consistently the most disappointing and pointless holiday of the year back home. There haven’t been too many that rivaled this year’s.*

We enjoyed a relaxing evening at a friend of a friend’s rental in Poneloya, one of the closest beach destinations to León, watching fireworks up and down the coast, and even had a small show of our own.

*Katie and Dad, please don’t be offended, the only good thing New Year’s has going for it is your birthdays!

Ranger Rides is a blog that will detail the experiences of two cousins (Ranger Tom and Ranger BeeKoz) as they sustainably cycle to South America. This trip will fulfill their thirst for travel, cycling, and living a low impact lifestyle.